PORT DICKSON: It was an awkward moment when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan came face-to-face 10 years after the controversial Sodomy II court case shook the nation.
Saiful, a former aide to Anwar, filed his papers at the Port Dickson Municipal Council Hall to contest the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election on Oct 13.
“Well, I can’t wait to see him (Anwar) inside. It’s been a long time since I met him,” he told reporters when met outside the nomination centre yesterday.
Shortly after, Saiful shook Anwar’s hands as they entered the hall to submit their papers, and again while waiting for the Election Commission’s (EC) official announcement.
Otherwise, Saiful suffered a rough start to his campaign as he was greeted with jeers when Returning Officer Khairy Maamor announced his candidacy. Some even shouted: “Tak tahu malu kah” (Have you no shame?)
The jeering appear to contradict Pakatan Harapan’s pledge not to resort to personal attacks in the election campaign. Anwar, who spoke to the press shortly afterwards, said he would advise his supporters not to resort to personal attacks but said Saiful’s “malicious” accusations in the past should be taken into account.
“I will advise them, of course. “
“It is easier to say forgive and move on, but (you) also have to appreciate the concerns of many who were deeply hurt and who suffered in the process,” he added.
Anwar said he was unfazed by the prospects of Saiful using the sodomy allegations to campaign against him.
“That is his issue, and I don’t want to interfere. I want to focus on my work, and I think the leadership is taking the same decision as well.”
Saiful told reporters that it felt good shaking Anwar’s hands, adding that it was important to be mature in a new democratic era.
He pledged not not to speak about the controversy surrounding the Sodomy II case in his campaign.
“No. My narrative is not about the case. It’s about other things. Moving forward, I don’t want to talk about the past.
“We should talk about the future. The case is already settled. He received a pardon, what else is there to talk about?” he said.
Saiful said as the Port Dickson by-election was engineered to pave the way for Anwar to eventually become prime minister, “Anwar has to tell the people of Port Dickson his policies.”
Saiful gained notoriety in 2008 when he accused Anwar of sodomising him at a condominium in Damansara, triggering a sensational national court case.
Anwar was subsequently acquitted by the High Court in 2012 of the sodomy charge.
However, the acquittal was overturned by the Court of Appeal in March 2014, and he was slapped with a five-year jail term that stopped him from contesting in the 14th general election.
Following Pakatan Harapan’s landmark victory in GE14, Anwar was released from prison after a full and immediate pardon by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V.
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